Author's Note: Hey! This is my first HP fic! It's a one-shot, but I might decide to expand on it at some point! Please review if you can! =)
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of the characters…shame really =( Just borrowing them!
Whole Again.
Harry James Potter, after The Final Battle, wanted a quiet and relaxed life, thank you very much. And he wasn't the only one. After the mass funerals and the attempted rebuilding of the fallen school…everyone just wanted a few days…or a few years to sit down, recuperate and grieve in their own way. It was a year later now, and it seemed that most of the magical community – and the muggles too – had moved on. For example, Hermione Jean Granger had married Ronald Bilius Weasley and was currently moving her way up the career ladder at the Ministry of Magic as some type of Activist protesting for equal rights between muggles, wizards and even all forms of magical creatures. Her work rivalled that of S.P.E.W. due to her obsessive dedication to it. He fully supported her though…Dobby might have survived if…he didn't like to dwell on it too much. Ron, on the other hand, much to everyone's surprise, became a Healer at St Mungo's. Harry later realised that this was Rons' way of coming to terms with Fred's' death. Harry was still extremely close with both Ron and Hermione, despite them being married. They all met for dinner every Sunday at each other's homes, taking it in turns to cook. It was on these occasions that Harry found out what had happened to everyone else. Molly and Arthur Weasley had remained in The Burrow, due to all the happy memories, and the sad ones too, that their unique home contained. Harry too, saw them regularly. They were, after all, practically family to him; which lead on to the topic of Ginny Weasley. They had dated for a short while after the events of the year before, and eventually broke up after Harry declaring that he liked her simply as a friend, and Ginny was fine with that. She said there were absolutely no hard feelings, and then proceeded to ask if Harry would be ok if she started dating Dean Thomas again. Percy never did become Minister for Magic, after resigning from the Ministry only moments before Fred's' tragic death. He instead left The Burrow and joined Charlie working with dragons in Romania, leaving the position for Minister open to none other than Kingsley Shacklebolt. Bill Weasley, after receiving scars on his face after being attacked by Greyback, continued to work for Gringotts, and was currently expecting his first child with Fleur. George, after sinking into a depression after Fred's' death, one day declared that Fred wouldn't want him to mope about, and instead sent out advertisements for an assistant at Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes and the shop had recently become the most successful business in Diagon Alley.
It was also revealed as to the lives of Harry's other friends during these meals. Luna Lovegood had surprised everyone by joining Hagrid as Gamekeeper at Hogwarts. She had told everyone that the Thestrals had grown fond of her, as had the Centaurs. Harry never questioned her, but felt that there was no better place for Luna. Neville Longbottom had recently become the most recent and youngest addition to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He was the beloved Herbology teacher, and he clearly was at home, surrounded by all types of weird and exotic plants.
Away from his little group of friends, and DA members, Harry had discovered that although the majority of the survivors had done rather well from themselves, the Slytherin's seemed to not have. Blaise Zabini seemed to have disappeared of the face on the earth, as had Theodore Nott. Pansy Parkinson had fled to somewhere in Italy along with Gregory Goyle. Vincent Crabbe had died in the Room of Requirement…his tortured screams sometimes still plagued Harry's' dreams at night. As did those of Draco Malfoy. Harry was still investigating what had happened to the blonde; much to Ron's annoyance and Hermione's admiration. There had been virtually nothing in The Daily Prophet, apart from headlines stating that Malfoy Manor had been burnt to the ground by families torn apart by the Death Eaters. Narcissa Malfoy had been in the sitting room at that time, calmly sipping her cup of tea when the fire had spread through the manor, leaving her no time to escape. Lucius Malfoy and his son were still missing, many presumed them to be dead, and therefore could not care less. Harry often flicked through the paper, when thoughts of the Malfoys filled his head, hoping to find out what had happened to them both. He never realised that the opportunity would come about in a few days time, in which all his questions would be answered.
XXXXXXX
Harry leisurely strolled down Privet Drive, and carried on walking. He didn't have a particular destination in mind, which was rather nice. His school years had been filled with panic, and rushing around attempting to rid the world of an evil overlord trying to take over the world…it was nice to just walk around. His mind wandered back to the better times at Hogwarts, where he'd laugh with Ron and Hermione and have fun teaching the DA to his friends. He was so content in his little world, that he didn't hear the commotion across the street until he heard a traumatised scream penetrate his mind and with it came memories of the Final Battle, when the only sound heard most of the time was screaming. Ginny screaming when Fred died. Molly screaming as she duelled with Bellatrix Lestrange. Hermione and Ron screaming when they thought they he had died. Hagrid's screams. Professor McGonagall's screams. Even Snape's tortured scream as Nagini lunged at him…so many screams. He shook his head to clear it, and his eyes slowly open to reveal the scene before him. There was a car that was practically hugging a lamppost, and a middle-aged woman was squeezing a little girl, tears pouring down her face. She was like that for a moment, and then she picked up the little girl, clutched her tight to her chest, and then rushed over to a blonde figure standing alone on the pavement. Harry, too, rushed over to the scene, but kept hidden when he realised that the blonde figure was no other than the supposed missing Draco Malfoy. When he was a little closer, he hid behind a tree near the car where a muggle man had stepped out and was apologising repeatedly to the woman.
"I'm so sorry! I- she just ran out in front of me! I-" He broke off crying as another bystander slowly lead him away and sat him down on the pavement, and promptly phoned for an ambulance.
"Thank you!" The woman suddenly cried, gazing adoringly into Malfoy's shocked face. "If it hadn't of been for you…" She trailed off, after a quick and worried glance at the little girl, who too was staring intently at Malfoy. "Thank you."
Harry grinned as Malfoy shifted awkwardly from one foot to the other, his bright hair shimmering in the sunlight as he tried to stutter out a reply, "Oh…it's nothing…I…" his eyes briefly glanced at the woman, before he bit his lip and shifted his eyes to focus on the car, and finally, the little girl.
"Thank you!" The woman repeated, tears pouring from her eyes, "If there's anything I could ever do…thank you! You're nothing like your father!"
Harry gasped loudly as the woman's words seemed to finally penetrate the blondes thoughts, as recognition and confusion flashed on his face.
"My…my father?" He choked out eventually.
"Yes! Nasty piece of work he was too…no disrespect to your family; I'm sure your father loved you very much." The witch explained.
Harry quickly rushed forward and pulled Malfoy away from the woman, whose eyes had widened dramatically as Malfoy's eyes had narrowed and he actually growled. He struggled against Harry's grip and pointed a shaking finger out to the woman and snarled, "My father may have been a bad man…a…a Death…a Death Eater…but…but he loved us! He…he would have never of harmed us! He always protected us! So don't you dare say a bad word against him! He died so that the Dark…You-Know…so that Voldemort wouldn't kill me, so don't you dare-"
"Malfoy!" Harry pulled him away from the shocked woman, giving her a brief, apologetic look before slowly leading Malfoy back into Grimmauld Place and pushing him into the worn armchair in front of the fireplace in the kitchen.
Malfoy glared at the towering flame, and visually shuddered, before standing up and glaring at Harry.
"Oh, god! I…sorry, Malfoy! I didn't think about the fire! Aguamenti!" He stuttered out as a large jet of water shot out from his wand, immediately distinguishing the flames.
Malfoy's eyes narrowed in confusion before he glared at Harry and snapped, "What the hell, Potter?"
"Room of Requirement. Figured you wouldn't want to be reminded of it. I certainly don't." He shrugged.
Malfoy winced. "Not that, you imbecile. What the hell were you playing at out there?"
"I was preventing you from getting locked up in Azkaban!"
"Pah. I had it all under control, Potter! No-one insults the Malfoys and gets away with it!"
"Malfoy, you didn't have it under control. You would have been locked up for hexing her. What was she thanking your for anyway?" Harry rolled his eyes at the pompous git.
"I saved her idiotic child from becoming part of the road markings, that's what! And then she has the nerve to insult my family! I ought to-"
"You saved a child?" Harry demanded incredulously.
"What? Is that so hard to believe? That a Malfoy is incapable of-"
"For Merlin's sake, Malfoy. I don't care about that! Your family name has got nothing to do with this. You saving someone's' life, no matter who they are, proves you're not as heartless as-"
"Potter. Please stop trying to discover the good in everyone," Malfoy spat out angrily. "It'll only go and get someone else murdered. And you really don't need anyone else's death on your conscience now, do you? I mean, there's the mangy mutt, the werewolf, your parents…hmm…who else was there now?"
"Shut up, Malfoy." Harry growled dangerously.
"Oh, and that half-breed cousin of mine. And that freak Moody. Who am I forgetting?" he smirked maliciously, as Harry's eyes flashed with anger.
"I'm warning you, Malfoy. One more word, and I'll-"
"Oh, yes! Dumbledore! I can't believe I nearly-" Malfoy's sentence was left unfinished as a sudden punch from Harry knocked him flat on his bottom. "Potter! What are you playing at?" He demanded, clutching his nose in shock.
"In case you'd forgotten, Malfoy. Dumbledore's death was all your fault. You may not have killed him directly, but you made it possible! So, yes, I may have all those deaths on my conscience, but at least I'm not responsible for killing the greatest wizard ever known!" Harry screamed into Malfoy's face.
Malfoy was silent as he wiped Harry's spit off of his face. He winced as he stood up, and dusted his clothes off before finally looking at Harry. "Have we quite finished with our lovely little meltdown now? Lovely. Now, if you don't mind-"
"Sit down, Malfoy. We've got some things to talk about."
"Actually, I won't. You see-"
"Sit. Down."
XXXXXXXXXX
Harry glared murderously at Malfoy as he glanced around the room, disgust clear on his pointed face as he regarded his surroundings. Harry too, glanced around the room, not understanding why Malfoy was disgusted. Fair enough, his bedroom was probably the size of Grimmauld Place or something, but Harry rather liked this house. He owned it, therefore he was free to come and go as he pleased and not be ordered to cook a massive feast for the Dursleys three times a day. The kitchen was most definitely Harry's favourite room in the house. This was where everyone congregated for their meals when he had them over, where all the stories were told, and laughter was heard. Meals at the Malfoy house were probably formal affairs with five courses, served by house elves and concerned discussions about world domination or something equally evil. Meals in Grimmauld Place, on the other hand, were messy, noisy and simply entertaining if Harry was honest. There was a long, wide oak table that was still slightly bent in the middle due to the large amounts of food placed there, and the kitchen was spacious, which was useful due to the number of people that passed through it. And around the fireplace at the other end of the room, were two fluffy and worn, comfortable armchairs, which were currently occupied by Malfoy and Harry.
Malfoy finally sighed, "What is that you want, Potter? I have other things to do-"
"What happened to you?" Harry blurted out suddenly. He continued at Malfoy's blank look. "You just disappeared after the battle, you and your father. Everyone thought you were dead…"
"Bet you loved that, eh, Potter?" Malfoy spat maliciously after a brief hesitation. "And that really is none of your business. Now, if you don't mind-" he began as he rose from the chair.
"Actually, I do mind. And I won't ask you again! Sit. Down!" He stood up and pushed Malfoy back into the armchair before throwing himself onto his own chair.
It was Malfoy's turn to glare murderously at Harry this time. "This had better be important, Potter. I have appointments that I need to-"
"Will you shut up for five minutes?" Harry raked his hand through his hair in exasperation. "I'm thinking here!"
"Oh, is that what that noise was? I thought the stove was about to spontaneously combust or something. What a relief."
"Malfoy…" Harry growled in warning. "Now is not the time for your sarcasm."
"Oh, really? Well, if you would be so kind as to let me know when it is suitable then? I will be sure to have loads of perfect comebacks lined up in order to-"
"Malfoy! I'm serious! Do you ever stop talking! No wonder you had no friends! I bet you paid Crabbe and Goyle to hang around with you!"
Something snapped in Malfoy at that moment. "That was low, Potter. Take that back now, or I will do something that I won't regret, and you will be in a lot of pain."
"I'm sorry Malfoy." Harry apologised in embarrassment, "I really didn't mean that. I'm also sorry about Crabbe…no-one deserved to die that way…"
"Shut up, Potter. I don't want to talk about that."
"Malfoy…"
"No. What is it that you want? Or did you just bring me here for a little trip down memory lane? To remind me that I'm a Malfoy, and therefore have to…not have any friends, merely…associates that would befit me when the opportunity arose."
Harry stared at Malfoy in amazement. "Do you always talk like that?"
"Of course. You obviously know nothing about it, it is a Pureblood habit. You, of course, are a filthy half-breed and grew up surrounded by muggles," he spat out the word, "Therefore, I suppose I will have to make allowances-"
"Silencio!"
Malfoy's mouth snapped shut when he realised that his voice had temporarily been silenced.
"Now that you've finally shut up, maybe you'll let me talk without interrupting me every five minutes. If you'll listen to me, then maybe I'll think about fixing your nose, ok?"
Malfoy sighed in defeat, and nodded, and then leant back in the armchair and crossed his arms, waiting for Harry to talk.
"I don't know what happened to you after the war. Or any of your friends." An odd look passed over Malfoy's face at Harry's words. "I know what happened to the majority of everyone else, well, those who survived anyway. Have you got somewhere to stay?"
Malfoy's eyebrow rose, as if to remind Harry that he currently had no voice.
"Oh…right. Well, I'm not letting you speak until I've had my say…can you just nod or shake your head or something?" Harry offered.
Malfoy sighed and rolled his eyes.
"So, have you got somewhere to stay?" He frowned when Malfoy shrugged. "What do you mean, you don't know? Where have you been staying for the last year?"
Malfoy looked away and shrugged again.
"You can't have been staying in the Manor…" he cringed as Malfoy winced. "With any friends? Zabini? Parkinson? Goyle?" Malfoy shook his head at each name, causing Harry to frown again, "Surely…surely you've not been in the streets?"
There was no doubt about it this time. Malfoy definitely did not meet Harry's eyes. In fact, he seemed determined not to look into Harry's eyes, as if doing so would result in his spilling all his secrets to the scruffy-haired boy.
"Malfoy…?" Harry prompted quietly.
A pink tinge appeared on Malfoy's cheeks and he slowly nodded.
"Diagon Alley?" Harry whispered as Draco nodded again. "How did no-one ever take you in? I would have…if I'd of known you were there…"
Malfoy jumped out of his chair, panting in silence as he glared in hatred at Harry. His teeth were gritted and his fists were clenched, giving him the appearance of someone of trying to control their anger and failing. It was rather disturbing.
"Sorry, Malfoy. But there must have been someone who sympathised with Voldemort, or even liked your family that would have…I'll shut up now…" he trailed off at Malfoy's glare. "Look, I'm sorry that you had to live like that. Really, I am. But to be honest, Malfoy, you don't exactly look like someone who's lived on the streets for the past year…"
And indeed he didn't. His blonde hair was immaculately styled, and its shimmering shine put Harry's own just-out-of-bed hair to shame. Harry unconsciously attempted to flatten his hair, as he gazed at Malfoy. The thinner boy was wearing an all black suit that was tailored to fit his figure, and looked as if it didn't have a speck of dust on it. Malfoy had probably placed some dirt repellent charm on it or something…a charm…he wouldn't have…would he?
"Malfoy…?" Harry questioned tentatively, "You haven't got a glamour or something on have you? You know, to hide your true appearance? There's no way you can look like that if you've been on the street for a year…"
Malfoy glared at Harry again, which had absolutely no effect on the Gryffindor for he had had six years of being glared at by the Slytherin. He shrugged as if to admit to defeat, and slowly nodded again.
"Right, I'm going to take off the silencing spell now, and then can you lift the glamour? Then I suppose I ought to fix your nose." Harry decided.
Once Harry had muttered the counter-curse, Malfoy coughed and then sighed. "I don't understand, Potter. What do you care what I look like? I look like a street urchin or something…well, I suppose that is what I am, but I don't particularly want you to…" he sighed again. "Fine." He raked through his pockets to find his wand, and was about to lift the glamour when Harry suddenly gasped.
"That's not your wand! I've still got yours upstairs! I've been meaning to give it back, but then you disappeared-"
An odd expression flashed on Malfoy's face before he admitted, "This was my mother's wand. She has no need of it now, and it responds to me rather well. Could I possibly have my wand back, though? I had rather missed it."
Harry nodded, then looked pointedly at Malfoy who sighed wearily, and suddenly lifted his glamour to reveal a painfully thin youth, with shadows under his eyes and whose usually immaculately styled blonde hair was now at shoulder length, and was a mass of unkempt tugs and tangles. He had clearly been wearing a smart, black suit before his life on the streets, but it was no longer in perfect condition; it was torn and covered in mud and what looked scarily like blood. There was the odd visible bruise on his body, and the Dark Mark was partially covered by a ripped sleeve.
"You've still got it then? I thought it would have faded once Voldemort died…" He rolled his eyes as Malfoy flinched. "What on earth happened to you, Malfoy? Why didn't you ask for help?"
"I was at Death Eater, Potter. We were all shunned by Wizarding society. Spat on in public. Many of us were killed, some escaped."
"Was?" Harry frowned at the past tense.
"Oh, honestly, Potter. Do you even use your brain? Yes, 'was'. The Dark Lord is dead now, so Death Eaters no longer exist. The Mark still remains as you don't just stop being a Death Eater. You're in it for life. Unless I wanted to cut off my arm, which I don't by the way; I am rather attached to it, there's no way of getting rid of it. How did you defeat the Dark Lord anyway? I did want to ask you-"
Harry stared incredulously at Malfoy for a brief moment and then demanded, "But surely….you never wanted to be a Death Eater! I saw you on the Astronomy Tower that night! You were lowering your wand before…before Snape arrived and…"
"You were there?" Malfoy shouted, his cheeks going pink again, "Of course you were." He lowered his voice to mutter angrily at himself. "There were two broomsticks, of course he was there."
"Malfoy, don't be so…I know you didn't want to do it. I heard you. You lowered your wand."
"Potter, stop trying to find goodness in me. There isn't any. I'm a coward, that's why I lowered my wand. By doing that, I condemned my parents to death, so I know what it's like to have your parents' death on your conscience. Ok, so yours was maybe not directly your fault, but you were there. And I did want to be a Death Eater. It made by Father proud and my Mother somewhat also. Well, that was until I got them killed."
"Malfoy, you're not completely to blame here." Harry sympathised gently. "What…what happened to your father? I know about…about your mother, I'm sorry."
Malfoy looked at him. "He died. Did you honestly think the Dark Lord would have let him survive after my failure? He killed him and then left my mother and I alive. She perished in that fire, so…" He gulped.
"How did he…what happened, Malfoy?" Harry stepped forward and placed his hand on the boy's shoulder, but it was shrugged off instantly as if Malfoy didn't want to allow himself any form of comfort.
"The Dark Lord was…enraged when I failed to kill Dumbledore…he tortured me and placed my parents and I in the cellar where…well, you know where I mean. I'm not sure how long we were there, exactly, but I was let out to go back to school, and I had no contact with my parents and then just after you, Granger, Weasley and everyone else escaped from the Manor, the Dark Lord arrived and…he took it out of me, and my father tried to stop him…the Dark Lord was about to cast Avada Kedavra, but my father stepped in front of it…it bounced back on the Dark Lord, and it never killed him…I thought it might have as it did with you…but clearly you are more powerful than me, and the Dark Lord had become more powerful, so he just…threw it off and it got my father…I somehow escaped in all the commotion, cast some glamours, went to Diagon Alley, and now here I am, a year later."
Words escaped Harry at that moment. So many thoughts, questions and demands swirled around in his head, before he suddenly blurted out, "How did you survive?"
"Well…" Malfoy admitted slowly, his cheeks colouring yet again, "I managed to get some money out of my vault at Gringotts before…well... it got closed. Apparently my darling Auntie Bellatrix didn't want me using the Malfoy money…she wanted it, although she's not a Malfoy." He spat angrily, "Then I tried to steal a few things…but it felt so wrong. I felt like a common criminal!" The pink tinge darkened into a red, "Then I eventually had to resort to…begging." He visibly shuddered. "It was horrible. A few people recognised me at the beginning…but after a while, I started to…look different, and they either ignored me, or gave me a few knuts. I managed to purchase scraps with it."
"Oh, Malfoy." Harry said sadly, gazing at the blonde youth with sympathy.
"Don't look at me like that, Potter! I did what I had to do!" Malfoy crossed his arms and pouted.
"You look about five years old when you do that, did you know?" Harry smirked.
"Yes. Pansy and Blaise frequently saw to it that I was informed of my so-called 'childish' behaviour. I was an only child, of course, so I was not to know about the correct behaviour amongst my peers apart from making sure that I was not sympathetic towards the mudbl- muggle borns, and that I fully supported the Dark Lord."
There was an awkward silence before Harry suddenly declared, "Come here, Malfoy. I forgot about your nose, it ought to be quite painful by now!"
Malfoy jumped – he too, had completely forgotten about his broken nose, but now that he had been reminded about it, the pain returned and he glared at Harry. "I ought to complain to the Ministry about you, Potter. I wonder if they know that their Golden Boy is a violent, manipulative-" he broke off and screeched as Potter shouted "Episkey!"
"Ouch, Potter! That hurt!" He complained, gingerly rubbing his nose.
"Sorry." He grinned, not sounding at all sorry. "So, Malfoy…about that wand of yours?"
XXXXXX
Harry smiled brightly as Malfoy crouched down on the floor in shock over finally receiving his wand. The boy's slight smirk was threatening to break into a great smile that would probably take over his own face, if only Malfoy allowed his pureblood Malfoy façade to crumble.
Malfoy suddenly looked up at Harry from the floor and his lips turned up slightly. "Thank you, Potter. This really means a lot that you would hold onto this for me. Anyone else would have…I don't know, thrown it away, or something, I guess."
"No problem. I would have thought that you would have done the same for me." He smiled as Malfoy frowned, looking as if he was debating whether to reply to that or not.
"And I…" he coloured again, and stared at his feet, "I suppose I ought to thank you for saving me."
"…Sorry?" Harry looked genuinely confused. Not only was Malfoy actually apologising to him…more than once! But he was now talking in riddles!
"Um…back…back in Hogwarts. You saved me in the…in the Room of Requirement from the fire and…afterwards too. From the Death Eaters at Hogwarts. You didn't have to." Malfoy muttered.
"Yes I did. I would have done it for anybody…"
"Even Severus?" Malfoy smirked sadly.
"Well…yeah." He too, smiled sadly at the look of confusion stamped on Malfoy's thin face. "He was a good man. It took a strong, brave man like Snape to be a spy and to carry on without people from both sides discovering it. I later found out that he was in love with my mother, and that he had sworn to Dumbledore to do his best to protect me from harm-"
"Wait, wait, wait! Severus was a spy?" Malfoy whispered, eyes wide,
"Yeah. He was working for the Order of the Phoenix too. Did you honestly not know that?" Harry was dumfounded. He had thought that Malfoy was Snape's star pupil. Clearly he was wrong.
"No…he was my Godfather, you know?" Malfoy supplied. "Everyone disliked him, but I loved him. I was…distraught when I found out that he'd died."
"There's a portrait at Hogwarts if you ever want to go and see…"
"Potter, don't be such an idiot. Do you honestly think that I will be allowed to just walk into Hogwarts? I'm pretty much responsible for everything that lead up to the battle! If I hadn't of fixed the Vanishing Cabinet, then maybe…" he trailed off and shrugged.
"Malfoy…Voldemort was just too powerful. He would have found a way in. You weren't the only Death Eater still at school, you know."
"Yeah, I know." Malfoy mumbled dejectedly, "But I was still responsible for his death. I didn't…"
"I know." Harry placed his hand on his shoulder, "I'm sorry that you had to go through all that. And you know what?"
"What?"
"I wished I had taken your hand all those years ago on the train. If I had, all that you suffered, it might have not happened." Harry admitted, and was shocked to see Malfoy's eyes fill up with tears. He decided not to say anything about it for the moment, but continued, "I would like it if you would let me accept your offer of friendship now, though. Even if it is a few years too late."
"Better late than never, eh, Potter?" Malfoy sniffed pathetically. A tear rolled down his face as Harry thrust out this left hand, Malfoy placed his hand in it, and they shook, thus creating a new friendship, and destroying years worth of hatred, distrust and jealousy.
XXXXX
"Hey, Malfoy?" Harry asked from his place in the armchair, a couple of hours later. The two of them, after the handshake, had claimed their chair and sat talking about their childhoods. Harry had discovered that Malfoy's childhood was pretty similar to his own, although his parents were alive at that point. It was disturbing to think that they were both orphans now.
"Hmm?"
"Would you like to stay here? I mean, you've got nowhere else to go, and I know this place is a shed compared to the Manor, but the offer's there if you want…there's plenty of room…" He smiled.
"But…Potter, I have no money!" Malfoy blushed.
"I think if we're friends now, we really should call each other by our first names. You don't see me calling Hermione and Ron, Granger and Weasley now, do you? Although they are both Weasleys now. And you don't need to pay me, you're my friend."
"Harry." The name felt odd on his tongue. He'd always called Harry by his surname and it was usually followed by a nasty insult. "Ok, Harry, but only if you call me Draco."
"Ok, Draco." Harry grinned. "See? It's not hard, is it?" He chuckled as Malfoy glared playfully at him. "Can I ask something?"
"Well, you just did. But I suppose I could let you ask another."
"Oh, you 'suppose', do you?" He laughed, "Well, I was just wondering…what happened to everyone else? All your friends?"
"Potter…Harry, I thought we'd already established that I never had friends at Hogwarts; merely associates that I spent time with."
"Draco, that's what friends are!" Harry said in exasperation.
"No. Gra- Hermione and Ron were your friends, Pansy, Blaise, Vince and Greg were people that my father had decided were useful for me to know, and therefore create strong alliances for my adult years. And the fact that their families were all extremely wealthy and supportive of the Dark Lord's regime was beneficial also."
"Are you saying that you've honestly never had a real friend?" Harry asked quietly.
"That's exactly what I'm saying, Po-Harry. And don't say it's pathetic, I know."
"It's not pathetic, Draco. That's how you were brought up. The fact is, we're friends now, right?" At Draco's nod, he continued, "So, it's a fresh start, right?"
Draco nodded then sighed dramatically, "Oh, Merlin. I'm going to have to be nice to Weasley and – oh for goodness sakes! Hermione and Ron! Aren't I?"
Harry actually burst out laughing and nearly fell off the armchair much to Draco's amusement. "Merlin, Draco! I'm not asking for a complete personality transplant! Just be yourself…only, a less snobbish, stuck-up, pompous version, please!"
Draco's jaw dropped open. "Snobbish?" He screeched. "Stuck-up? Pompous? Me?"
Harry was clutching his sides tightly as he roared with laughter. "Oh, Draco, I wish I'd of know how funny you were! Yes, you are exactly like that! I'm guessing it's a pureblood thing?" He grinned playfully.
"Oh, you imbecile. Honestly. You wound me with your hurtful words. I may just go and cry in a corner. If I could find one free from junk, of course. Does this place always look like a Reducto gone wrong, or is this just for me?"
Harry managed to calm his laughter down to the odd hysterical giggle. "Ah, Draco." He sniggered. "I suppose, we ought to go find you a room." He stood up, and waited for Draco to join him before he left the room.
XXXXXXX
"Oh, this is too horrible! My old bathroom at the Manor is bigger than this room! And I had a bigger bed!"
"Draco! This is the second biggest bedroom avail-"
"Oh, and I suppose the biggest room is yours? How rude. I am the guest here, and I've to suffer in terrible living conditions. Oh, I will need therapy before the weekend."
"Yep." Harry grinned. "Sunday is when Hermione, Ron and I meet up for dinner. It's my turn to cook this week."
"…Cook? You…servant! You mean to tell me that you don't own a house elf?"
"Actually, yes. I prefer not to call on him unless absolutely necessary. I did ask him to work at Hogwarts, but apparently he insulted all the children, so I begrudgingly took him back. He might like you though, he seems to like purebloods. And you're relayed to the Black family, are you not?"
"…Yes. But I don't see what that has to do with anything."
"This is Sirius' old house-"
"Sirius Black?"
"Yep. He was my godfather. When he died, he left the house to me."
Draco stared. "I learn something new about you everyday, Harry."
"I'll take that as a compliment, shall I? Have you ever seen the tapestry?"
"The what?"
XXXXXXXX
"Wow." Draco breathed out in wonder. "That is…wow." His long fingers traced the seemingly never-ending branches until he reached the Malfoys. He paused on Lucius and Narcissa, stroking both their images, until he reached himself. "Ugh! I look nothing like that! Of course, they just had to make sure my hair was a mess, and…oh god…that's a spot isn't it? Harry? Look! Do something!"
XXXXXXXX
"Right, Draco." Harry said suddenly, turning round to glare at said blonde who feigned innocence.
"Yes, Harry? How may I be of assistance this even-"
"Oh, do shut up. Hermione and Ron will be here in five minutes, so could you please refrain from insulting them too much? I haven't told them about you yet, however, so you may want to stand back from the door a bit…Ron has a slight tendency to punch before asking questions."
"What?" Draco demanded, nevertheless, he moved back from the door and fixed it with a wary look as a sudden loud knock emitted from it.
"Coming!" Harry called out as he yanked open the door to reveal his two best friends, "Hi! You're early!"
"'Mione made me leave early. Said it was 'good manners'." He quoted, grinning. "I told her it doesn't matter, you're my best friend, and when am I ever on time?"
"Ronald!" a bushy-haired witch admonished from behind him, "Honestly. Just because Harry's our best friend does not mean that you can take certain liberties with him, it really is rather rude, and also-" She broke off as she saw Draco standing warily behind Harry. "Um…Harry?"
"Yes?"
"Is that Malfoy standing behind you? Calm down, Ronald. Put the wand away!" She came in the door, closed it behind her and turned to face Harry with her hands on her hips and gave him a pointed look.
"Erm…see, well…the thing about that is…"
XXXXXXXX
Harry was currently taking the roast out of the oven, leaving Draco to entertain Hermione and Ron. However, this was not going at all well. Hermione and Ron were looking awkwardly at Draco, who was staring at his clasped hands.
"Erm…so…Malfoy…um…are you and Harry…friends, now?" Hermione asked tentatively.
Draco nodded. "I…uh…wanted to apologise to you both. For…well, everything. I called you a Mudblood so many times," he glanced at Hermione, " And insulted your family," Here he glanced at Ron, "And I know I can never apologise enough for the hurt I caused you both…but I'm willing to start again…if you are…" his voice trailed off.
There was a brief hesitation, until Hermione placed her hand on Draco's left arm. "It's ok, Draco. Harry's a good judge of character. If he believes you've changed, then I trust you."
"Um, Hermione…?" Ron interrupted, going red.
"Yes, Ronald?" Hermione sighed, sensing an argument.
"Maybe you forgot, but I'll remind you anyway…Malfoy is a Death Eater! Not only that, but he killed Dumbledore and nearly killed Bill! And do I need to remind you about how he nearly killed us in the Room of Requirement?"
"That was Crabbe-" Draco protested angrily, forgetting all about his promise to Harry about behaving himself.
"Ronald!" Hermione screeched shrilly.
"He was all set for handing us over to Voldemort, in case you'd forgotten."
"Actually, Ronald, he tried to prevent Crabbe and Goyle from handing us over, if I remember correctly. And he stopped them from hexing us."
"Oh, and that makes it all better, does it?" He spat sarcastically.
"Ron. Hermione. Please?" Draco begged, and it was the look on his face that promptly silenced the two's bickering. "I regret everything I did. Believe me. I am filled with so much self loathing right now…I'm sorry. I don't know how I can apologise anymore. And I'm sorry about your brother, Bill. I didn't know that Greyback was coming, he wasn't a Death Eater, he was just a tool of the Dark Lord's…like we all were to some extent. I'm sorry, ok?"
Ron slowly nodded, "Ok, but don't expect me to instantly like you. You'll still always be a skinny, bouncing ferret to me!" he grinned suddenly.
"I resent that! I've never been more embarrassed!" he joined in with the other two's hysterical laughter at the image of Draco Malfoy, The Amazing Bouncing Ferret.
"Glad to see you're all getting along so spectacularly!" Harry chuckled as he entered the room with two overflowing plates, placing them in front of Hermione and Ron, before leaving the room and returning with two more, one of which he placed in front of Draco before sitting down beside the blonde at the dining table.
"Mmm, Harry this looks delicious!" Ron smacked his lips, much to his wife's disgust.
"Oh, honestly, Ron. You'd think we'd never fed you. How you are not the size of a house, it's a miracle!"
"Blimey, Hermione." Ron sniggered. "You know the way to a man's heart is through his stomach!"
XXXXXXXXX
"So, Harry…Ron and I have some news…"
Harry looked up expectantly, as did Draco, who suddenly felt like he was an intruding a personal, important moment between the three friends. He moved to leave but Harry pushed him back into his chair.
"Oh?"
"Well…I'm pregnant!" She squealed as a grin broke out on both Harry and Ron's faces.
"Really? Oh, that's wonderful! Congratulations! When's it due?"
"Summertime! Oh, and you'll be godfather, Harry?"
"Seriously?"
"Yes! You're a wonderful godfather to little Teddy, and who else would we pick?" Hermione gushed.
"Well, yes then!" He laughed as the trio hugged each other.
Draco shifted awkwardly at the table. He'd never felt more out of place. It was quite disturbing really. It made him wish he'd been as close to Pansy and Blaise…hell, even Vince and Greg…he regretted that he'd never seized the opportunity, but had instead ordered them about like a miniature clone of his father.
"Draco? Are you ok?"
"Hmm?" Draco jumped. "Oh, yes! I was just thinking."
"Always a dangerous past time, I find. Especially with Hermione-"
"Ronald!"
"Sorry?" Ron grinned, dodging a slap from Hermione who was fighting to keep the grin off her face at her husband's childish antics. "You know I love you!"
She sighed, and pulled her husband in for a kiss, "I know you do, you great big softie." She giggled as he kissed her nose.
Harry and Draco smirked at the couple before the foursome decided to sit back down at the table.
"So, what do you all do now?" Draco braved a conversation starter, and inwardly patted his back as everyone relaxed and starting talking.
"Well, I'm a Healer at St Mungo's! You should see some of the sights we get in there! We had a guy that had celery growing out his ear the other day!"
Everyone burst out laughing, "And I work at the Ministry. I'm trying to convince the Ministry to apply equal rights to Magical Creatures, so that they can use a wand if they wish. And equal pay for all working creatures; especially house elves. And that muggles are not treated so harshly by Wizarding society, they are, after all, not so different from us." She glanced at Draco, waiting for his reaction.
"No, they're not. I wish I'd of seen it sooner. That really is quite fascinating! Do you organise protests?" He questioned, eyes lightening up as he leant forward on his elbows.
"Yes. I also gather petitions and organise meetings, I'm on a first name basis with the Minister, did you know?"
"Wow, really?" Draco actually sounded intrigued, much to Ron's disgust.
"Hermione!" Ron interrupted, "Not only are you probably boring him, we're all on a first name basis with Kingsley, he was in the order with us!"
"You know Kingsley Shacklebolt?" Draco breathed in awe. "What's he like?"
Ron rolled his eyes at Harry who grinned, as Hermione sighed, "Oh, he is a wonderful, wonderful man! He is in full support with all of my ideas! He re-introduced the Muggle Protection Act!"
"Wow-"
"Right, before I start wondering if I married a sane woman, can you two please shut up about work, and talk about something fun? How about Quidditch? Everyone loves Quidditch!"
"Oh, Ronald." Hermione sighed in exasperation.
XXXXXXXX
A year later, and Ron was now working his way up the medical ladder at St Mungo's. It was rumoured that in the next few months that he could very well become the youngest and most successful Healer there. Hermione, too was doing extremely well with her career. She was now Deputy Prime Minister due to Kingsley's admiration at her dedication to making the world a better place. Ron loved the extra money his wife brought in, indeed it was particularly useful as she was now expecting her second child. Little Frederick Albus Weasley was born on an unbearably hot summer's evening in The Burrow, surrounding by a massive family, the majority of whom were red-heads.
Harry, on the other hand, after a year's break, decided to take up teaching at Hogwarts, alongside Neville Longbottom. After the success of the DA classes, Harry felt that there was nowhere else he would rather be, than teaching Defence Against The Dark Arts to masses of teenagers. He adored it, it felt like being back at school…it felt like home. Hermione and Ron visited regularly; their Sunday dinners were still a long-standing tradition, however, they were now joined by a baby and of course, Draco, whom they had all become fast friends with. Draco, also after a year's rest, in which he simply recuperated, gained some weight so that he was no longer painfully thin, got a hair cut and just relaxed, bravely wrote to Headmistress McGonagall and inquired as to whether he would be allowed to take his O.W.L's. She agreed and he passed top of the year, beating even Hermione, not that she minded. She was first in line to hug and congratulate Draco when he received the news, and she was the one to persuade him to apply for the Potions position at Hogwarts when it opened. Due to his brilliant grades, and dedication to the subject, he was immediately accepted, and now spend his evenings after class with Harry, Ron and Hermione and could often be seen talking to Severus Snape's portrait in the Slytherin Common Room. He had also been delegated role of Head of House to Slytherin, as Harry was to the Gryffindor's, and to everyone's surprise and joy, Luna Lovegood became Head of House to Hufflepuff. Ravenclaw had received Cho Chang as their Head of House, and Ginny Weasley became Quidditch captain. The Great Hall had been completely rebuild, and now hosted even more students than ever before. It was nearing September the first of a new school year, and in a matter of days, children would fill the school, shouts of joy echoing in her vast corridors, friends congregating everywhere, students being educating by some of the finest teachers to ever be at Hogwarts. Hogwarts was whole again.
A/N: Thanks so much for reading! x